History

1040-1164

1068. North Queensferry , the Gaelic name of the original settlement here was Ardchinnechenan, takes its current name from Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who is said to have established the village to ensure there would be regular ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth for the benefit of pilgrims.

1070. The “Queen” in Queensferry was Queen Margaret the wife of Malcolm 111, (1058.1093). She set up a church in Dunfermline where she had married Malcolm in 1070. This rapidly became a place of pilgrimage leading to increasing demand for transport across the Forth Estuary. The Queen’s Ferry, paid for by Margaret and operated by monks from Dunfermline was the result.

Crossing the River Forth for a thousand years

1040-1057. On the death of Macbeth in 1057, Malcolm becomes King of Scotland.

1066. Margaret of Wessex arrives in Scotland following the Norman Conquest of England.

1068. North Queensferry , the Gaelic name of the original settlement here was Ardchinnechenan, takes its current name from Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who is said to have established the village to ensure there would be regular ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth for the benefit of pilgrims.

1070. The “Queen” in Queensferry was Queen Margaret the wife of Malcolm 111, (1058.1093). She set up a church in Dunfermline where she had married Malcolm in 1070. This rapidly became a place of pilgrimage leading to increasing demand for transport across the Forth Estuary. The Queen’s Ferry, paid for by Margaret and operated by monks from Dunfermline was the result. This had no fixed southern terminal, using a variety of landing places in or near the village depending on the tide and weather. One of these landing points “The Binks” is marked today and was used up till 1812.

1093. Margaret died in 1093 and made her final journey by ferry to Dunfermline Abbey, where she remains buried. Her son, David I of Scotland, awarded the ferry rights to the abbey.

1130: Pilgrims regularly travelled north to St Andrews to worship at the site of the saint’s relics, a practice that became increasingly popular during the reign of King Malcolm III. To assist the holy in their pilgrimage, the church established a regular ferry service to allow speedy passage across the Firth of Forth. The crossing became known as the ‘Queen’s Ferry’, after Malcolm’s wife Margaret.

1164. In 1164 a charter was granted by Malcolm IV, the crossing was officially named Passagium Regina, the Queen’s Passage.

1320- 1561

1320-23. The oldest building in North Queensferry is the nearby early 14th century Chapel of St James (‘the Greater’ – patron saint of pilgrims) founded by Robert the Bruce, abandoned after the Reformation and believed to have been destroyed by Parliamentarian troops in 1651. Very little remains standing.

The chapel at the North Queensferry landing point of Robert the Bruce in the 1300s was dedicated to Dunfermline Abbey by the first king of Scotland. Free passage on the ferry was granted to the Abbey’s priors and canons along with their monks and goods.

1364. By the early 14th century South Queensferry had become a Burgh of Regality

1320-23. The oldest building in North Queensferry is the nearby early 14th century Chapel of St James (‘the Greater’ – patron saint of pilgrims) founded by Robert the Bruce, abandoned after the Reformation and believed to have been destroyed by Parliamentarian troops in 1651. Very little remains standing.

The chapel at the North Queensferry landing point of Robert the Bruce in the 1300s was dedicated to Dunfermline Abbey by the first king of Scotland. Free passage on the ferry was granted to the Abbey’s priors and canons along with their monks and goods.

1364. By the early 14th century South Queensferry had become a Burgh of Regality along with Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Musselburgh, owing duties to the convent of Dunfermline, which also controlled the ferry passage. A charter issued by David II, King Robert Bruce’s son, in 1364, which confirmed the Burgh’s rights and liberties, is held in Queensferry museum. Queensferry had become a flourishing seaport by the 17th century, trading in coal, wool and hides and importing wine, silk, linen and timber from Europe and Scandinavia.

1565. It is recorded that Mary, Queen of Scots used the ferry on the day she was transported to Loch Leven Castle where she was imprisoned.

1627. Charles I made the town, South Queensferry, into a Royal Burgh and freeport.

1651. During Oliver Cromwell’s campaign against Scottish royalist forces, the decisive engagement known as the Battle of Inverkeithing took place on and around the isthmus between the North Queensferry peninsula and Inverkeithing and Rosyth. The battle gave Cromwell control of Fife and the Firth of Forth.

1700-1890

1700’s. In the mid 1700s the need for a road crossing of the Queensferry Passage was discussed seriously for the first time. Numerous plans to bridge the Firth of Forth were dreamed up, developed and discarded throughout the 18th century.

1810. Responsibility for the ferry passage had been transferred from the various individuals into the hands of a Board of Trustees in 1810. They ordered improvements to the service and to the various landing places on each side of the Firth to cater for the ever increasing number of passengers and vehicles. As early as 1929 a report on the possibility of a road crossing was produced.

1811. A report dated 15 May,

1700’s. In the mid 1700s the need for a road crossing of the Queensferry Passage was discussed seriously for the first time. Numerous plans to bridge the Firth of Forth were dreamed up, developed and discarded throughout the 18th century.

1705.

1810. Responsibility for the ferry passage had been transferred from the various individuals into the hands of a Board of Trustees in 1810. They ordered improvements to the service and to the various landing places on each side of the Firth to cater for the ever increasing number of passengers and vehicles. As early as 1929 a report on the possibility of a road crossing was produced.

1811. A report dated 15 May, 1811 indicated the volume of traffic using the ferry over the course of the preceding year. In the space of 12 months, more than 83,000 people, almost 6,000 carts and carriages and over 44,000 animals risked a drenching (even death) by taking to the treacherous waters on the boats.

1817. The Harbour Light Tower was built in 1817 by Robert Stevenson as a key part of the Queensferry Passage across the Forth. Up until then, the Signal House was used by boats as an aid to navigation. Ferries berthed both at the Town Pier and at the Battery Pier (now beneath the Forth Bridge).

1817. Plans for a chain bridge across the Firth of Forth were drawn up in 1817 by Edinburgh civil engineer and land surveyor James Anderson. The unrealistic design was promptly discarded.

1821. Steam power came to the Firth of Forth in 1821 with the launch of the paddleboat Queen Margaret. Although her paddles prevented the boat from taking wheeled traffic on board from the pier, she became a popular choice for foot passengers seeking a more reliable means of crossing the estuary than sail power.

1828. To accommodate the deeper draughts of the new, larger steam-powered ferries, Thomas Telford extended Town Pier in 1828 to its present length. The Railway Pier, on the far side of West Bay, was the terminus of the new Dunfermline-North Queensferry Railway which opened in 1877. The Railway Pier was used as one of the northern ferry terminals from 1877 to 1890, and in 1920 it replaced the old Town Pier.

1866. The first rail link, a branch line from Ratho, reached South Queensferry. However the industrial expansion of the Victorian period had little impact. Until, that is, the year 1883, when the Forth Rail Bridge and the demands of it’s 3000 workforce brought renewed prosperity.

1879. The tragic collapse of Thomas Bouch’s Tay Bridge, a major disaster that caused more than 70 railway passengers to lose their lives, put a dramatic halt to construction of the Bouch-designed Forth railway crossing, which had only recently begun.

1883. Work on a bridge for rail traffic eventually began, under the supervision of Benjamin Baker and John Fowler. The construction of the bridge would alter life in North Queensferry drastically. At its peak, the construction of the bridge employed over 4,000 men. In the same year that the building of the redesigned Forth Bridge began, construction of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge (now known simply as Brooklyn Bridge) was completed, with a main span of 486 metres. On opening, the American bridge became the world’s longest suspension bridge and today continues to occupy a prominent place in New York City’s skyline.

1890. Designed by Sir John Fowler and Benjamin Baker to look indestructible, the Forth Bridge was officially completed on 4 March 1890, when HRH Edward Prince of Wales added the final rivet to the awe-inspiring cantilever structure. With the opening of the Forth Bridge in 1890, for the first time, the Firth of Forth is bridged, providing an alternative means of travel to the ferries that had traversed the waters for centuries.

1923-1958

1923: With the steady advance of the motor age, the need for a road crossing over the Firth of Forth became more urgent than ever. Though he didn’t live to see the bridge built, J Inglis Ker was instrumental in its conception. Ker first presented his proposals at the Hawes Inn, South Queensferry in 1923. Crucially, he won the support of Sir Henry Maybury, Ministry of Transport, the following year.

1929. Work to investigate suitable sites for the road bridge began some five years after 30 Scottish MPs campaigned for the Ministry of Transport to agree to a survey. Messrs. Mott, Hay & Anderson was involved in the bridge plans from these very early days, the firm’s civil and structural engineers responsible for conducting these initial investigations.

1923: With the steady advance of the motor age, the need for a road crossing over the Firth of Forth became more urgent than ever. Though he didn’t live to see the bridge built, J Inglis Ker was instrumental in its conception. Ker first presented his proposals at the Hawes Inn, South Queensferry in 1923. Crucially, he won the support of Sir Henry Maybury, Ministry of Transport, the following year.

1929. Work to investigate suitable sites for the road bridge began some five years after 30 Scottish MPs campaigned for the Ministry of Transport to agree to a survey. Messrs. Mott, Hay & Anderson was involved in the bridge plans from these very early days, the firm’s civil and structural engineers responsible for conducting these initial investigations. Three possible locations were examined and the possibility of a tunnel crossing explored. A report on the possibility of a road crossing was produced, but the ferries continued until the Forth Road Bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1964.

1937. Undoubtedly one of the world’s most iconic bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge opened providing road traffic with a fast route between San Francisco and Marin County. With a main span of 1280 metres, the Golden Gate Bridge seized the title of world’s longest suspension bridge from the George Washington Bridge.

1947: The national economic crisis of the 1930s and the out break of the Second World War meant that road crossing plans were shelved until the late 1940s. The Forth Road Bridge Order 1947 approved Macintosh Rock as the site for the bridge and the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board was established to supervise construction. Yet the work continued to be delayed.

1950. With the coming of the internal combustion engine, the ferries grew again in importance. By the 1950s the ferry across the Queensferry Passage was the busiest in Scotland, with four ferries making over 40,000 crossings each year and carrying 1.5 million people, 600,000 cars and 200,000 goods vehicles. In 1956 it cost between 2/6d and 7/6d for a car, and between 4/6d and 54/- for a lorry. The cost for a passenger was 5d.

1957. The author makes his first journey over the Forth by ferry.

1958: Finally, the green light was given for bridge building to begin on 10 February. Consulting engineers Freeman Fox & Partners worked alongside Messrs Mott, Hay & Anderson to oversee the bridge’s design and supervise its construction. To save the contract from going overseas, the three largest construction engineering firms in Britain formed a consortium to take on the mammoth project. Comprising Sir William Arrol & Company, The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and Dorman Long (Bridge & Engineering) Ltd, the group became known as the ACD Bridge Company Ltd.

Construction commenced in September 58 with the preparation of the site.

1960-1964

1960. This further increased and by 1960, the Queen’s Ferry was handling over two million passengers a year and over 600,000 motor vehicles. Naturally, this number was ever increasing and it soon became apparent that another bridge would be required.

1960: When the building of the towers was under way, people flocked from near and far to watch the bridge begin to take shape. Bridge construction at the time was a daunting task and it was fascinating for folk on the ground to watch the brave builders scale the emerging structure.

1961: Once the cable anchorages had been bored into the rock on either side of the Forth and the bridge’s twin towers were in place, the cable spinning began.

1960. This further increased and by 1960, the Queen’s Ferry was handling over two million passengers a year and over 600,000 motor vehicles. Naturally, this number was ever increasing and it soon became apparent that another bridge would be required.

1960: When the building of the towers was under way, people flocked from near and far to watch the bridge begin to take shape. Bridge construction at the time was a daunting task and it was fascinating for folk on the ground to watch the brave builders scale the emerging structure.

1961: Once the cable anchorages had been bored into the rock on either side of the Forth and the bridge’s twin towers were in place, the cable spinning began. Because this method had never before been used in Europe, a training school was set up in South Queensferry for the would-be cable spinners. By August 1962, the men had created the bridge’s two enormous cables from 30,000 miles of steel wire – enough to reach around the world 1¼ times.

1963: On 20 December, the final two box girders needed to complete the main span of the bridge were swung into place. To mark the momentous occasion, the girders were swathed in the Union Jack and Lion Rampant. Remarkably, when the girders met, the two halves of the bridge were no more than an inch or so out of line.

1964. The last ever commercial ferry crossing of the Queen’s Ferry left Hawes Pier, South Queensferry on the evening of 3 September 1964, and docked at North Queensferry shortly after. The very next day, Elizabeth II opened the new Forth Road Bridge, and 800 years continual use of the Queen’s Ferry were finally brought to a close.

1964: Its roadway and footpath completed, asphalt surfacing in place and lighting installed, the Forth Road Bridge was opened to great fanfare by HM The Queen on 4 September. Commemorative stamps went on sale the same day to celebrate the world’s most northerly long span suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the USA.

Around 16,000 people were invited to the official ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute fired by Royal Navy ships in the estuary. A further 50,000 members of the public turned out to witness the historic occasion from either shore, in spite of the thick mist that threatened to conceal the bridge from view.

Traffic began to flow across the bridge at 5.48pm, and as many as 20,000 half crowns were presented at the tolls in the following 3½ hours.

With a main span of 1006 metres, the Forth Road Bridge was the world’s fourth longest suspension bridge for 78 days, until the opening of New York’s Verrazano Narrows Bridge on 21 November.

1990-2002

1990: As the 20th century came to a close, the bridge’s twin towers were strengthened to cope with the increased weight of traffic now using the bridge. Since 1964 the maximum weight of goods vehicles had doubled from 22 to 44 tonnes. In 1990 the towers’ cross-bracing was strengthened and in 1998 a project to strengthen the tower legs to take the increased weight of vehicles was completed.

1993: In total, it cost £19.5 million to construct the Forth Road Bridge and its approach roads, of which £14.35 million was borrowed from central government. By December 1993, the monies collected in the bridge tolls since 1964 had repaid this debt. From this date on, toll revenue was invested in the maintenance, operation and improvement of the bridge.

1996: At the time the bridge was built,

1990: As the 20th century came to a close, the bridge’s twin towers were strengthened to cope with the increased weight of traffic now using the bridge. Since 1964 the maximum weight of goods vehicles had doubled from 22 to 44 tonnes. In 1990 the towers’ cross-bracing was strengthened and in 1998 a project to strengthen the tower legs to take the increased weight of vehicles was completed.

1993: In total, it cost £19.5 million to construct the Forth Road Bridge and its approach roads, of which £14.35 million was borrowed from central government. By December 1993, the monies collected in the bridge tolls since 1964 had repaid this debt. From this date on, toll revenue was invested in the maintenance, operation and improvement of the bridge.

1996: At the time the bridge was built, the risk of ships colliding with the structure had not been addressed. To remedy this concern, significant improvement work began in 1996 to construct defences around the base of each of the crossing’s twin towers. Completing the work was not entirely straightforward, however – the breeding patterns of a colony of rare roseate terns nesting on the nearby Long Craig Rock restricted when work could be carried out.

1997: One way tolling was introduced in an attempt to improve southbound traffic flow.

1998: Work to replace the bridge’s hanger ropes began, following the discovery of fraying on one of the ropes on the west cable. Each new hanger comprises a pair of ropes, each with its own single socket. This updated socket design is an improvement on the original, as it allows for just one rope of the pair to be replaced as required. The project was completed in 2000.

2001: In recognition of the feat of engineering that it represents, the Forth Road Bridge was designated a Category A listed structure in March 2001.

2002: Responsibility for operating and maintaining the bridge was transferred to the newly-created Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA), replacing the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board (FRBJB). Unlike its predecessor, FETA was given the power to invest in transport and infrastructure projects beyond the bridge itself.

2004-2009

2004: The Forth Road Bridge became the first suspension bridge in Europe to have its main cable opened up to check for signs of corrosion. The bridge authority was surprised to discover that 8-10% of the cable’s strength had been lost because of corrosion. Work to prevent further strength loss and reduce the possibility of future traffic restrictions began immediately.

2007: In December, the Scottish Government made public its plans to construct a new 21st century Forth road crossing alongside the existing bridge. The Forth Replacement Crossing project will protect an essential link in Scotland’s road network for future generations. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011,

2004: The Forth Road Bridge became the first suspension bridge in Europe to have its main cable opened up to check for signs of corrosion. The bridge authority was surprised to discover that 8-10% of the cable’s strength had been lost because of corrosion. Work to prevent further strength loss and reduce the possibility of future traffic restrictions began immediately.

2007: In December, the Scottish Government made public its plans to construct a new 21st century Forth road crossing alongside the existing bridge. The Forth Replacement Crossing project will protect an essential link in Scotland’s road network for future generations. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011, with the opening of the new bridge planned for 2016.

2008: Following a change of administration at Holyrood, plans were put in place to scrap all remaining bridge tolls in Scotland. The Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act was passed on 31 May 2007 and the Forth and Tay Road Bridges became free to use on 11 February 2008. The removal of the toll plaza on the Forth Road Bridge was a major project successfully completed by the bridge authority in a very short space of time.

Both bridges are now directly funded by the Scottish Government.

2009: The main cable dehumidification system was fully commissioned in October 2009. The system is now blowing very dry air through both main cables in a bid to reduce the relative humidity inside to a level where corrosion cannot occur. The effectiveness of the system will be assessed when the cable is opened up again in 2012 for a full inspection.

2010-present day

A third internal inspection in 2012 indicated that the rate at which the cables were losing strength had been minimised, and the margin of safety had not been significantly reduced since 2008. This gave reassurance that the dehumidification system was successfully preventing further corrosion of the bridge wires.

However cables will need to be continually monitored and inspected for the remainder of their service life as damage already done to the wires inside the cables cannot be repaired.

A third internal inspection in 2012 indicated that the rate at which the cables were losing strength had been minimised, and the margin of safety had not been significantly reduced since 2008. This gave reassurance that the dehumidification system was successfully preventing further corrosion of the bridge wires.

However cables will need to be continually monitored and inspected for the remainder of their service life as damage already done to the wires inside the cables cannot be repaired.

The reduced load by only allowing public transport, bikes and pedestrians over the existing bridge would also help extend its lifespan.

At the start of December 2015 the Road Bridge was shut because of structural defects which were found. The bridge was closed over the Xmas and New year of 2015, causing major disruption all around the Forth estuary. This was a sharp reminder of the importance of this transport link used by up to 80,000 vehicles a day, and reinforced the justification of a new bridge.

inspection of cracked structure

However, this period was dominated by the construction of the new Queensferry crossing. Building work started at the end of 2011. The bridge was completed on budget, and despite the size and complexity of the project, almost on time.